INTRODUCTION
Technical writing is defined as writing that aims to get work done,to change people by changing the way they do things(Killingsworth and Gilbertson).It is to empower readers by preparing them for and moving them toward effective actions.
Microsft is a word processor and is the most impotant tool in dealing with technical writing.It is used to make work more effectively and efficiently. The primary appeal of microsoft word is its universality.It is present almost in all the office computers.It is the most commonly used tool for creating documents.
The ability to communicate effectively and efficiently is highly valued in business environment.hence microsoft word helps to create documents,flyers,formal letters etc.by making any writing project presentable and polished.It uses various features like formatting the text,editing the text,making charts,inserting clip art,spell-checking,use of tables,creating documents etc.
APPLICATIONS
- creating document
- saving document
- inserting text
- spelling and grammar
- formatting
- setting margins
- setting identation and spacing
- inserting page numbers and creating headers and footers
ENTERING AND EDITING TEXT
Type text into a document.copy,cut and paste text from one location to another.The window microsoft word uses two types of modes.One is insert mode which is the word’s default editing mode and the other is overtype mode.In insert mode new text appears at the text pointer,pushing existing characters to the right.In overtype mode new text replaces existing text.You can switch between the two modes by pressing the insert key.
CREATING DOCUMEMNT
Several ways exist to create new documents.Most commonly used is to open a file and then by clicking new, a new document window gets opened.Microsoft word also make use of templates.A template is a pre-defined page,sometimes accompanying artwork,such as a standard letter format or a fax cover sheet that gives your document a pre-defined look.
SAVING DOCUMENT
Once the document is complete we need to save it.This can be done by selecting file and to specify a location and filename before clicking ‘save’.
Word documents end with the .doc filename extension.the filenames can have spaces also.
AUTOCORRECTING
Microsoft word offers the feature of autocorrection.It recognizes the typing mistake and corrects it .
If autocorrection corrects something that you don’t want corrected then press ctrl+z and autocorrect reverses its action this way.
In addition to autocorrection,word also automatically formats special character combinations within the document.For example,word converts common type fractions,such as ½ to their single character equivalent.
SIMPLE CAHARCTER FORMATTING
The text can be modify the way we want to express it.The three standard character formatting styles are underline,boldface and italics.These special formatting styles are called character formats.
Select the text that is to be formatted and click bold,italics or underline toolbar buttons.Alternatively commands can be given like:
Ctrl+B to make text in bold
ctrl+I to make text in italics
ctrl+U to make text in underline format
FONTS
A font determines the way your character look,whether curly or elegant.Fonts have different names,such as courier new and times new roman.the size of font is measured in ‘points’ which can be changed by changing the points.
The font dialog box provides many character formats.the font dialog box exhibits various options like ‘font’,’size’and ‘font size’.Hence the text which is mend to change the font is first highlighted and then changes can be made whether in its font or size font accordingly.
The font list shows the names of various fonts like arial,arial black,arial narrow,book antiqua,bookman old style etc.
APPLYING COLOR
The color of the text can be changed by clicking on font color palette.click a color on the palette ,to change your selected text to that color.
SETTING MARGINS
Display the page setup dialog box by selecting file,page setup command.The dialog box displays option to set margins,page size and page layout.
setting indentation and spacing
To change the indentation(the space between the page and margin and where text aligns) or line spacing (the amount of blank space between lines).Select format and then paragraph to display the paragraph dialog box.,left indention value indents not only the first line of paragraph,but also the entire paragraph’s left margin.a right indention value indents from the right.Increase or decrease a paragraph’s indentation by clicking the decrease indent and increase indent buttons on formatting toolbar.
The format,paragraph,dialod box’s line and page breaks page enables to control the wat your document’s lines and pages start and stop.When you click the paragraph dialog box’s line and page breaks tab,word displays the settings.
Reference taken from:
- MS Office 2000 written by Jennifer Fulton
- The Complete Reference,Office 2000 by Nelson
ROLE OF MS WORD IN MODERN TECHNOLOGY
Microsoft word bears immense significance in producing impressive technical writings.MS word is considered to be the most powerful word processor available.It is the useful tool for creating reports,letter writings,cv’s,applicaton writing etc.
Word offers variety of features to make our technical writing as effective as possible.For example we can make our technical writing look more presentable by using formatting option or by inserting charts or clip arts etc.
Microsoft word proves to be very useful in the field of engineering.It is the most useful tool for making reports,letters,cv’s etc.It has its own advantages in the field of electrical engineering.It is used for making official documents.it is used to save the official record.Its advantages are innumerable.
